11:27, 24 January 2020

Ingush activist, Magomed Ozdoev, sentenced to 16 months in colony

The court has sentenced Magomed Ozdoev, a participant of the rally in Magas, to a year and four months in colony. Ozdoev will be set free in late February, said his advocate.

The “Caucasian Knot” has reported that his defence insisted that the activist had defended himself from “Rosgvardia” (Russian National Guard) fighters.

On December 25, 2019, the prosecutor stated that on March 27, Ozdoev took part in an unsanctioned rally held in the city of Magas, because he experienced "political hostility" to the authorities under the religious influence of organizers of the rally. On January 9, 2020, Ozdoev replied that he had not attacked three “Rosgvardia” fighters because of his political convictions, but responded to beating him with a truncheon.

When sentencing, the judge took into account that Ozdoev had repented, but did not rule out the aggravating circumstances, which the prosecution insisted on, the Human Rights Centre (HRC) “Memorial” has stated.

According to his advocate, Ozdoev will spend less than a month in the colony. Every day he spent at the SIZO (pre-trial prison) will be counted as two days in colony. “Ozdoev was arrested on June 21, 2019, thus, we expect his release in 26 days from today,” said the advocate.

Let us remind you that on March 26, 2019, residents of Ingushetia arbitrarily extended their protest rally in Magas, which led to clashes with law enforcers. According to the calculations of the "Caucasian Knot", at least 96 activists were persecuted; and criminal cases were initiated against at least 29 of them.

This article was originally published on the Russian page of 24/7 Internet agency ‘Caucasian Knot’ on January 23, 2020 at 11:49 pm MSK. To access the full text of the article, click here.